1354 — “When you hear the call to prayer, respond to Allah’s caller.”

Al-Daraqutni (197) and Abu Nu‘aym in Akhbar Isfahan (2/122) narrated it through Muhammad ibn Sulayman, from Abu Dawud, who said: “My father narrated to me, from ‘Abd al-Karim al-Jazari, from Ziyad ibn Abi Maryam, from ‘Abdullah ibn Ma‘qil, from Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah, that a blind man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I hear the call to prayer, but perhaps I cannot find anyone to guide me.’” He then mentioned it.

I say: The narrators in this chain are trustworthy, except for Sulayman ibn Abi Dawud al-Harrani, who is weak.

However, he was not alone in narrating it. Al-Bayhaqi narrated it in al-Sunan (3/57–58) through Bishr ibn Hatim al-Raqqi, who said: “‘Ubayd Allah ibn ‘Amr narrated to us, from Zayd ibn Abi Unaysah, from Abu Ishaq, from ‘Abdullah ibn Ma‘qil,” with the same report.

I say: Its narrators are trustworthy, except for Bishr ibn Hatim al-Raqqi. Ibn Abi Hatim mentioned him (1/1/355), citing only his narration from this ‘Ubayd Allah, and added nothing further. Al-Bayhaqi then said: “Abu ‘Abd al-Rahim differed from him, narrating it from Zayd ibn Abi Unaysah, from ‘Adi ibn Thabit, from ‘Abdullah ibn Ma‘qil.”

I say: Al-Tabarani gave its connected chain in al-Awsat (1/22/2), through al-Shadhakuni, who said: “Muhammad ibn Salamah al-Harrani narrated to us; Abu ‘Abd al-Rahim Khalid ibn Yazid narrated to us, from Zayd ibn Abi Unaysah,” with the same report. Al-Tabarani said: “No one narrated it from ‘Adi except Zayd.”

I say: He is trustworthy, but the route to him includes al-Shadhakuni, whose name was Sulayman ibn Dawud, a hadith memorizer accused of fabricating hadith. Yet al-Tabarani’s statement cited above apparently indicates that he was not alone in narrating it. This is supported by the fact that, when al-Haythami cited it in al-Majma‘ (2/42–43), he said: “Al-Tabarani narrated it in al-Awsat and al-Kabir, and it contains Yazid ibn Sinan…”